Pandemic Baby - AND Be Sure to Vote!

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I was supposed to photograph this sweet girl's newborn photos in April. Then covid tore the world apart. We took some of her mom’s maternity photos the Friday before Chicago shut down in March. She was the oldest "newborn" I've ever photographed at two months, but she slept like a one-week old for the last half of her session.

Earlier this year, for over two months, I couldn’t photograph anyone. And it was heart-wrenching. Knowing new mamas weren’t getting those snuggly photos of those first few days or weeks with their littles made me so sad.

I’ll admit I was a bit nervous going into this session because two month old babies can be very unpredictable! I typically photograph babies between one week and a month new. The older they get, the less predictable they are in terms of sleepiness. Not that a baby needs to be asleep to get great photos, but it does make it a bit less challenging when they’re sleepy :) I mean, often times when a two month old is awake it’s because they’re h-u-n-g-r-y! Having said that, I do LOVE when a newborn opens their eyes during our sessions - I feel like I get a glimpse into who they are as a tiny little human! So with little Miss A’s session, I got the best of both worlds! Awake AND smiley and then some sleepy snuggly photos too. This was a nice “welcome back” session after a dark March/April/May.

Baby girl smiles as she’s swaddled in a Posh Peanut floral wrap during her newborn session, which was delayed by two months due to the pandemic
Newborn baby girl and her big sister in matching outfits lay on a pink rug while big sister kisses her baby sister.
Mom lays on a soft pink rug next to her newborn baby
Newborn baby girl wrapped in a pink swaddle lays sleeping on a soft pink rug in her nursery.
Close-up of newborn baby girl’s fingers
Newborn baby girl in a pink swaddle & pink headband lays in her crib on a floral sheet from Posh Peanut
Newborn baby girl in pink swaddle blanket & pink headband lies on a soft grey rug next to a line of her stuffed animals. Baby elephants, baby rabbits and baby sheep stuffed animals.

PSA: Please go vote if you haven’t already! Our democracy, and the future of little girls like Miss A, is depending on all of us. Figure out your voting plan and do your civic duty. I did mail-in voting here in Chicago and dropped off my ballot last week. I received my confirmation of receipt the next day. Easy and safe, which is what we need in this pandemic. I obviously won’t tell you who to vote for, but for full transparency I voted Biden/Harris. I believe we need real leadership with compassionate people. And I believe America, but especially women, Black people, LGBTQ people, immigrants and the Earth all deserve better. I’m voting for basic human rights.